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Success Stories

Small farmers in rural Zambia face many hardships when attempt-ing to sell their grain. Long distances to market, non-competitive pricing and the lack of immediate payment hinder farmer incomes and dampen food security in the country.

Groundnuts (peanuts) are an important agricultural commodity in Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique. However, high levels of afla-toxina carcinogenic mold that can develop during production limit their market, trade, and nutritional value. Relatively simple changes in post-harvest handling can help reduce aflatoxin, especially those related to prompt storage and moisture control.

In April 2014, USAID’s Southern Africa Trade Hub supported Agritech Expo, Zambia’s first outdoor agricultural event servicing the needs of the entire agricultural value chain. Over 8,000 partic-ipants—including suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, agents and service providers—attended the event at the GART Research Centre in Chisamba where the latest agricultural technology and farming solutions were showcased to farmers throughout the re-gion in partnership with the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU).

Peanuts (known locally as “groundnuts”) are a strategic crop for improving small farmer incomes and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. However, a barrier to trade is contamination with aflatoxin, a carcinogenic mold that contributes to chronic health problems and food insecurity.

On February 1, 2013, Botswana lowered the cut-off point for new work and residence permits from 75% to 60% and to 50% for renewal applications in response to requests from the private sector. This makes the points-based system (PBS) for permits more responsive to the needs of prospec-tive investors to be able to mobilize skills and experience not already available in the country.

The grant not only supported the production of 80 metric tons of new hybrid seed in Malawi, but also paired independent seed companies in South Africa and Malawi to bring new seed products to the market effectively.

Improving the trading conditions and efficiency of even one country is an ambitious undertaking: doing so simultaneously with all neighboring countries so that trade procedures are harmonized, unified, and consistent throughout the region is even more difficult.

The USAID Southern Africa Trade Hub is partnering with local organizations in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique to address significant post harvest losses with a series of grain management trainings. The trainings cover grain grading and standards, storage management and pest prevention.

From cleaner to receptionist to star-award recipient, Joyce Madimabe’s journey at the Trade Hub reads like a workplace-Cinderella tale for any woman who has ever felt limited by her lack of education or professional skills.

Instead of a prince, Joyce relied on her own personal drive and desire to learn. In place of a fairy godmother, Joyce had a cadre of female Trade Hub employees as mentors.

With the equipment, seed and market linkages facilitated through the Strategic Partnership grant, Jungle Beat is now capable of cleaning, sorting and grading four tons of groundnuts per hour at the Lusaka factory—enough for Jungle Beat to increase its purchase of groundnuts from small-scale farmers by up to 10,000 tons per season.

As a result of the grant, Jungle Beat sourced a $1.8 million USD working capital loan from a local bank (with support from the USAID DCA) to increase purchases from 2,700 metric tons in the previous year to an estimated 7,000 metric tons.

In September 2013, USAID’s Southern Africa Trade Hub conducted its third assessment of the efficiency of border operations at the Nakonde border post between Zambia and Tanzania, revealing a further reduction in border crossing times.

Standards and technical regulations are critical to global trade, but keeping up with varied standards is complicated, especially in southern Africa where few harmonized standards exist. A National Enquiry Point (NEP) helps by offering a single contact point to which requests for information on standards and regulations can be made.

Through a Strategic Partnership Grant, USAID’s Southern Africa Trade Hub is supporting the expansion of private sector investment into commodity crops to improve food security in the region. The pilot program involves South African company NWK, which is introducing soybeans into its existing cotton outgrower network in Zambia as a secondary commercial crop.

To help Zambia achieve its renewable energy goals, USAID’s Southern Africa Trade Hub is working with the Department of Energy through the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Development (MMEWD) to develop policies that will encourage investment in clean energy sources.

In partnership with the US Em bassy in Botswana, USAID’s Southern Africa Trade Hub sponsored eight renewable energy companies from Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia to attend the Solar Power International Conference and Exhibition September 10-14, 2012 in Orlando, Florida.

With 1,401 participants, 170 exhibitors and 36 buyers from local and international retailers, Source Africa 2013 demonstrated what can be achieved when USAID’s regional textile and apparel experts join forces with private enterprise in Southern Africa to boost regional industry.

Source Africa 2014 took place June 18-20 in Cape Town, South Africa, supported by USAID’s Southern Africa Trade Hub and val-ued partners LTE, the American Apparel and Footwear Associa-tion, and the African Cotton & Textile Industries Federation. The pan-African Textiles and Apparel trade show drew 1,185 visitors, up 25% from last year’s inaugural event.

On August 4, 2015, senior staff of the Southern African De-velopment Community (SADC), government officials from the United States Embassy Botswana, USAID, and the Southern Africa Trade Hub gathered at the SADC Secretar-iat in Gaborone, Botswana for a ceremony to celebrate the handover of the completed Regional Sanitary and Phytosan-itary (SPS) Strategies for Food Safety, Plant and Animal Health.

In just twelve months, six southern African countries have launched National Enquiry Points to improve trade and the ease of doing business. With USAID’s support, southern Africa now has a network of top-quality, effective National Enquiry Points (NEPs) in Malawi, Lesotho, Zambia, Swaziland, Mozambique and Botswana.

Hundreds of visitors streamed through the doors at Source Africa, the first pan-African Textiles and Apparel trade show of its kind. In addition to attracting buyers from around the world to the event, the Trade Hub worked closely with local partners to maximize the participation and success of suppliers.

Swaziland, Africa faces the same energy challenges as many other countries in southern Africa: unreliable electricity supply and an increasing power deficit. Only 20 percent of Swaziland’s maximum demand is met through the country’s own hydro and biomass co-generation efforts. The remain-ing 80 percent must be imported from neighboring South Af-rica and Mozambique.

In June 2013, USAID assessed progress on the implementation of the investor roadmap, a series of recommendations to improve the business climate in the country. The audit revealed that as a result of the interventions from USAID and the Swaziland Investment Promotion Agency (SIPA), a number of important reforms have been achieved.

The Trade Hub, in conjunction with the American National Standards Institute, organized a five-day benchmarking mission to the United States with a delegation of eight officials from the national standards organizations of Lesotho, Malawi and Zambia.

The trip was designed to give the delegates an up-close, comprehensive understanding of the functioning of an Enquiry Point and Notification Authority as they prepare to launch similar initiatives in their own countries.

At the end of every harvest season in Southern Africa, the market is flooded with grain as crops such as maize, soy, and peanuts are supplied at peak levels. Prices are at their lowest of the year, but farmers usually have to sell since they lack secure storage and need cash to buy supplies.